DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
THE DICK CAVETT SHOW
August 4, 2020  | By David Bianculli

Decades, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

I've been writing Best Bets, in one form or another, since 1977. And only twice, in all that time, did anyone else provide Bets for me. The first was during a lengthy hospitalization. TVWW's late editor, Christy Slewinski, with an assist from editor Eric Gould, culled together the daily picks for me. The second occurred, well, during a lengthy hospitalization. You, our wonderful readers, jumped in with your recommendations in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter until Eric (what would TVWW do without him?) could sub for me (with an assist from editor Linda Donovan). Being under the influence of heavy drugs, I couldn't really participate. So, while I don't want to make a habit of letting other people choose Bets, I couldn't help but agree with a text I recently got from another long-time TVWW friend and colleague, Tom Brinkmoeller, who suggested that the lineup for tonight's vintage episode of The Dick Cavett Show might be a good bet to offer as a good Bet.  And he's right: This 1986 episode is about TV writing, and Cavett, a former writer himself for Jack Paar, discusses the craft with Larry Gelbart, David Lloyd, and Pat McCormick. Gelbart has presided over TV's M*A*S*H, which at the time had recently ended with a finale that still ranks as the most-watched entertainment show of all time. Lloyd, by 1986, had written for both Paar and Cavett, then written for such great sitcoms as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Lou Grant, Cheers, Wings, and Frasier. And McCormick, another former Paar writer, also wrote scripts for Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show, and for Johnny Carson. Good call, Tom...

 
 
 
 
 
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